SLIDER

Lane Raglan Sweatshirt

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Today is all about COMFY.

I spotted this embossed double knit and knew I had to have it for a raglan sweatshirt. I paired it with gray french terry from Joann's.

My inspiration was this shirt that I found on Pinterest, it's on my Sewing For Me board. I was originally going to add the straps and snaps to allow for rolled up cuffs, but the main fabric was a little stiffer and heavier than what I anticipated so I knew when wearing this the weather was going to be cold and I wasn't going to be rolling up my sleeves and keeping them there so I eliminated that detail. Just gives me an excuse to make another one in a lighter weight fabric, right!? :)

Since I wanted a longer, roomier shirt this time around, I used the Lane Raglan pattern and cut a small at the top, graded to a medium at the hips. I also didn't remove any length and this allows for bum coverage over leggings. (If you're short like me, that is!) The ultimate comfort food as clothing go. :)

I used the wrong side of the french terry for the neckline as per the inspiration photo. I have learned through two french terry shirts (I'm posting the next one later this week!) that using it for the neckband means you will have a wider neckband than if using, say, a sturdy rib knit. The french terry has very little recovery and needs to be stretched to the max to pull things in and even then it's not going to give you a tight fit. At least this is my experience! I like the look for this sweatshirt, I think it lends itself nicely, but it is definitely something I will be taking into consideration in the future.

Overall, I totally love this new sweatshirt of mine! I've reached for it quite often since finishing it up and I know it will be getting lots of wear in the cold months around here.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it here on the blog or not yet, but I finally got a serger late last year. Yes!! It took until around Christmas time for me to get brave enough to use it regularly and since then I have been unstoppable on that thing. ;) That is probably a factor in my uber sewjo lately.

Anyway, all that to say that, with this shirt I found the value in first basting on your neckband with the sewing machine to check fit before serging it on. Oh yes, I have learned the fun in unpicking that serged seam. :)

3 comments

I love your lane raglan. I have made a few and they are wonderful. The t-shirt she has is also a favorite of mine. I have had a serger for a couple of years and my neckline binding tip is to serge around the edge of your binding (without cutting any off) to hold the two sides together and then when you add it to the shirt serge in just a little closer so it's not exposing any of those stitches. I haven't had a slipped fabric neckline problems since I started doing this! :) Makes it easier to iron once it's all serged together before you add it to the shirt.

Thank you! I love all of mine too! Her t-shirt is on the short list, once the weather warms up I'll probably be making several. At least. ;) That's a great tip about serging the neckband together! My problem this time was that because of the zero recovery, my neckband was too long so I had to take it all the way off, shorten and re-attach. Blah! Haha.

I just LOVE your sweatshirt, and I especially love the embossed ponte knit fabric you used, but alas, fabric.com no longer has this in stock in any color. I've begged them to please contact their buyers, and try to re-buy this product. I am in love with the cool geometric embossing. I'm still going to make my version, but I'd really like to make it with this extremely cool fabric you found!!

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Hi! I'm Heidi. Handmade Frenzy is the place where I share my adventures in sewing a handmade wardrobe. I share pattern and fabric reviews, along with fashion inspiration and tips & tricks. I hope you come alongside me in my journey and feel inspired!

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